


Christmas

by maryfic



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Zackaddie Holiday Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 21:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5555789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maryfic/pseuds/maryfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zack always goes home for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas

Zack’s favorite holiday is Christmas. Of all the ones where he returns home to visit his family, Christmas is the one that makes he, himself, feel special inside, not just one of a crowd of 40 plus people. All of whom love him dearly, but not one of whom really know him. 

This year, he is staying home to celebrate Christmas with Angela, and Hodgins, and Dr. Brennan, and Booth, and Cam. They’ve all agree to gather at Dr. Brennan’s home. There will be presents, and food, of course. With Booth coming, there will be a lot of food - but he enjoys the traditional holiday meal and accompaniments so that is fine with him. 

But what is making him nervous with excitement is the talk of caroling that he heard Cam and Angela discussing and trying to talk Dr. B into doing. Hodgins doubted his singing ability and he had consequently made the entire lab aware of what appeared to him to be normal after thousands of hours of practice. But Hodgins called him Pavarotti, so clearly his best friend is either suffering from a hearing-based delusion or Zack must actually be talented. 

Now that he is out of high school and a near-daily barrage of physical bullying, he is more inclined to believe in his own talent and promise, and the idea of being able to sing with his friends brings a warm glow to his eyes and smile in the days leading up to Christmas Eve and the party before the big day. 

He takes a taxi to the suburbs where Dr. Brennan lives, and is pleasantly surprised to see the house lit up both inside and out. There is a large Christmas tree in the front window (not as large as the ones in Massachusetts, of course, but everything seems quite larger to him back home, from the trees to the meal to the midnight church service) and his happiness raises by increments the closer he gets, the muffled sound of classical Christmas music coming through the window. 

He is pulled inside by Angela, who puts a glass of something that is creamy and probably alcoholic in his hands, and before he can blink, Zack is in the middle of a conversation arguing the merits of Firefly vs Star Trek, and then the conversation dissolves into a rapid match of Star Trek trivia between he and Hodgins. 

Zack is assured of his victory and so his mind floats on the spiked eggnog and he realizes how much different this year will be. Christmas with his friends is not something he has experienced before - friends is not something he can say he had before Hodgins, and now that he is away from home and the spectors that haunt that town for him he seems to keep making them. 

The evidence is in the warm of Brennan’s smile when she looks over at him, the pressure of Hodgins’ hand on his shoulder, squeezing in a brotherly manner, even Dr. Saroyan’s smile is less forced after working with him for several months. 

Everyone seems to be getting into the spirit of the holiday, and when Angela starts prodding them to go caroling through the neighborhood, most of them grumble but it is good natured as they bundle up against the light snow and make the rounds. 

Zack, of course, knows all the carols by heart, and he brought a small tuner to keep them all, at least close, to the correct key. 

But it doesn’t matter, for once, he doesn’t care about perfection or accuracy. Here, in the falling snow in front of a stranger’s house singing his favorite Christmas carols, sandwiched between Hodgins and Angela, he is safe, and comfortable. 

Zack Addy is home.

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the zackaddie Holiday Exchange 2015 on tumblr for totoroing-fangirl.


End file.
